In the early 1980’s, within the town limits of St. Michaels, construction began on a new development called The Homes of Perry Cabin and the last unit was completed in 1988. The new neighborhood is named for Inn at Perry Cabin, the luxury resort that is adjacent to the property. Surrounded by Fogg Cove, the Miles River, and 90 acres of organically farm land protected by a permanent conservation easement, the homes are peaceful retreats for weekenders or permanent residents.
The units are fee simple homes and owners are only responsible for only the exterior maintenance of their homes and their plantings around the foundation. The Fogg Cove HA, dba as The Homes at Perry Cabin takes care everything else, leaving residents time to relax on their decks or on the property’s secluded beach to enjoy the parade of boats on the Miles River and St. Michaels harbor. Nature enthusiasts enjoy sightings of deer, ducks, eagles, fox, geese, herons, osprey and swans who venture out from the wetlands and forest onto the well- manicured lawns. A few weeks ago, the owners of the adjacent unit to today’s feature invited me to brunch. Afterwards, we sat outside to bask in the sunlight on a clear day and soon a deer family tentatively ventured out of the woods and darted back in again.
Today’s featured house is one of the first quartet of four homes built in the neighborhood. I admired the massing of the units with the left end unit facing the side of the block, the two middle units offset from the end units and the right end’s unit having a one-story wing with a porch to its entry door. In addition, the mix of gable and gambrel roofs with dormer windows for the homes gives each home its own character.
The Tidewater style architecture with brick facades, concrete lintels and brick sills for the windows, black shutters on the end units’ facades and white trim creates a very pleasant façade. Previous owners of this property had purchased the two middle houses and converted them to a single family, six bedroom, 6 bath luxurious retreat.
The decks of the combined individual homes were previously converted into sunrooms to provide enjoyment of the landscape and water views throughout the year. Energy saving solar panels were installed on the roofs of this home’s second floor. From each sunroom, steps lead down to a brick terrace.
The former conversion eliminated the stair for one of the homes and left the two front doors. The main front door opens into a spacious foyer with the stair now opening to both the foyer and to the hall that has a coat closet, utility closet another closet for the washer and dryer. To keep a continuous flow from the foyer to the open plan living-dining-kitchen area, the wall between the kitchen was opened up. If one wanted to eliminate the view of the kitchen, adding pocket doors with frosted glass would be an option.
I admired the foyer’s antique furnishings and art that introduced their collection. The light gray walls are the perfect backdrop for art and with the white wainscot, crisp white ceilings and trim and beautiful flooring, the foyer is an elegant space to welcome family and friends.
The open plan living and dining area spans the depth of the house. The rear wall is infilled with a pair of doors that slide open against full height glass units to the sunroom for the landscape and water views. The wavy, textured wall covering surrounding the fireplace adds great texture and I admired the recessed area above the fireplace that frames a beautiful artwork whose colors may have inspired the room’s earth toned interior design.
The dining area’s round glass table keeps the spatial volume transparent and I dearly coveted the exquisite contemporary sideboard .
The dining area’s width could accommodate a table with extensions for holidays or other family celebrations. I admired the stylish bar height chairs at the kitchen counter overhang and I realized their pattern cleverly matches the dining table’s chairs.
The wide window over the kitchen sink overlooks the sunroom with its view of the lawn and water. The gourmet kitchen was designed for entertaining and showcases premium appliances, including a 60-inch extra-large refrigerator/freezer, Wolf propane cooktop, and integrated refrigerated and freezer beverage drawers thoughtfully integrated into the cabinetry. The listing agent demonstrated the corner cabinet at the countertop height that looked like drawers but is actually a hinged door with two handles that conceals the small appliance center.
The subtle colors of the flooring, peninsula countertop and the backsplash highlight the sleek white cabinetry with upper cabinets that rise up to the underside of the ceiling. I admired both the texture and colors of the peninsula’s countertop and the backsplash at recessed area. Adding electrical outlet strips to the underside of the peninsula’s countertop was a clever way to hide them.
Contemporary design features continue into this section of the sunroom with the sleek cabinetry with invisible hardware. The exterior door to the deck and the long triple window units offer views of the lawn and water.
Mini-split units like this sunroom has is the perfect solution to adding space to an existing house. The room’s sloped ceiling adds architectural character.
The previous owners altered one of the two original houses to contain a sumptuous primary ensuite that is accessed from the foyer. The spacious primary bedroom’ s corner fireplace provide s radiant heat and the adjacent sunroom is a private sitting room.
The sunroom is a cozy Snug with triple units overlooking the lawn and water. The French door leads to steps down a private deck for the primary ensuite. A slim triangular transom above the sofa brings in additional daylight.
The primary bath’s glass walled shower and the mirrored full width and height wall next to the shower expands the spatial volume of the bathroom. I admired the contemporary details of the lavatory, the shower’s black and white tile flooring, the accent wall in a random pattern and the partially frosted bathroom door for privacy.
Combining the two houses into one home created a second floor with two former primary ensuites. This former primary bedroom has bird’s eye views of the landscape and water and I admired the sleek Scandinavian interior design and the warm yellow color of the walls . Its ensuite bath includes dual lavatories.
The former primary bathroom in shades of white, black and gray with the texture of the partial shower tiled wall adds architectural character. The black accents of the lavatory countertop and the trim around the shower stand out against the warm white surfaces. The mirrored wall doubles the spatial volume.
This spacious guest bedroom ensuite at one front corner of the house has both a closet and a walk-in closet. The other side wall of this bedroom contains the ensuite bath.
Two other bedrooms on the second floor share a hall bath.
Community amenities include an extensive dock area for boating, crabbing, fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding ,etc. Each home has one deep water slip with 50 amp electrical service and access to town water to accommodate boats up to 40 feet in length with a 13 foot beam. There are storage racks for kayaks and paddle boards. For landlubbers, there are two regulation tennis courts, lined for pickleball. There is also a pedestrian bridge linking the homes to the Inn at Perry Cabin’s property so residents can enjoy the Inn’s options for dining.
Enjoy a day on the water from either of this house’s two deep-water boat slips (6′ MLW)!
Residents can enjoy strolls along their private beach with panoramic water views, or find a perfect spot for a picnic.
For more information about this property contact Maureen “Mo” McHugh at Chesapeake Bay Real Estate Plus LLC, 410-745-6702 (o) 443-848-7210 (c) or maureenmomchughre@gmail.com .
For more pictures and pricing, visit www.cbreplus.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”.
Photography by Janelle Stroop, Thru the Lens Photography, 410-310-6838, Janelle@Thruthelensphotos.com.
One of only two combined houses and the only one with a primary ensuite on the main level, this turnkey house offers a unique opportunity to age in place. The second floor could be renovated to combine the two smallest bedrooms at the rear of the house into a sitting room and the hall bath could become a mini-kitchen. The three remaining bedroom ensuites and the main floor primary ensuite would be sufficient to fulfill most families’ needs for bedrooms.
The first floor layout works very well with one of the former houses containing the open plan living-dining-kitchen area and other former house containing the sumptuous primary ensuite with its own private sunroom. This combined property conveys two deep-water boat slips (6′ MLW) with water and electricity, each able to accommodate a 40-foot vessel, so your guests could arrive at the dock instead of the front door! The bonus of a fully owned solar energy system with integrated backup battery storage provides exceptional energy efficiency and resilience that adds approximately $2,000/year offset to electricity bills as well as solar income. All this and close proximity to St. Michaels shops, restaurants and attractions!
